Ashlynn Martinek

Name: Ashlynn Ludmila Martinek

Gender: Female

Age: 18

Grade: Senior

School: George Hunter High School

Hobbies and Interests: Debating, activism, progressive politics, chess, newspaper, cycling, yoga, trivia

Appearance: Ashlynn, standing at 5'9" and 145lb, has a naturally lean and willowy figure, albeit with slightly thicker arms and larger feet than strictly proportionate for her frame. She has rosy pale skin, green eyes, and strawberry blonde shoulder-length hair. Her hair is naturally curly, and she diligently straightens it.

Ashlynn has a diamond-shaped face, with petite and dainty features, and is usually considered attractive as a result. She has a slightly upturned nose, a feature most people don't notice unless they closely examine her face, but one she feels very self-conscious about. Due to the shape of her eyebrows resembling a scowl, she is often accused of having a "resting bitch face".

Ashlynn tends to dress casually, often favouring some combination of jeans and tube tops or t-shirts. She tends to favour brighter colours. Ashlynn normally wears a variety of bracelets, bangles, and charity wristbands on her wrists. On the day of the abduction, she was wearing black jeans, a faux leather jacket, and a light blue t-shirt with the slogan "Nevertheless, She Persisted".

Biography: Ashlynn was born on December 22, 1999. She is the second of three children, her older brother, Mark, being three years older than her, her younger sister, Andrea, a year younger than her. Her mother, Becky Kavanagh, comes from an Irish-American family with a long history in eastern Tennessee, Becky being the first to, by her own reckoning, have the hard work and dedication to escape the cycle of poverty. Her father, Bohumil "Bobby"Martinek, was born in Prague, shortly before the "Prague Spring" of 1968. After the Soviet military occupied Czechoslovakia, the Martineks, devoutly Catholic and entrepreneurial, fled, settling in Tennessee. Keen to help the Cold War effort, many family members took jobs working either in the laboratories at Oak Ridge or the Tennessee Valley Authority.

The two had fleetingly met at various bars and social events as they grew up in Chattanooga, but it was at a fundraiser for the Jan Hus Educational Foundation, a society of British philosophers helping spread philosophy in Czechoslovakia, where the two truly hit it off. By the time the Cold War was over, the two were engaged. They waited several years before having children, however, both wanting to get started in their careers before beginning a family.

Both Becky and Bobby became lawyers, involved in criminal law, often for high-paying or corporate clients, but neither was a stranger to pro bono work. They worked together at a firm based in downtown Chattanooga. They were able to afford their children many luxuries and many holidays, and spoiled them somewhat. All three Martinek children were taught to be proud of their parents' legal backgrounds. The comfortable lifestyle the legal profession enabled came to an end when Ashlynn was eleven, however. Neither was ever a particularly scrupulous or procedure-fixated lawyer, and these habits caught up with them when their motives too were called into question.

Becky was accused of witness tampering, among various other more minor acts of malfeasance, in a case where her client, the son of a prominent Chattanooga businessman, was accused of several counts of assault. She had reportedly suggested to several witnesses in a case that adverse testimony could damage their career prospects. She avoided criminal charges, but her reputation was shattered, and the saga ended with her disbarment. Bobby, who had stood by Becky throughout the ordeal, was pressured into leaving the firm. The poor publicity surrounding his name left him unable to attract clients or gain a job at another reputable law firm. The family expenditure was curtailed as a result, and Ashlynn's heretofore idealised view of her parents and their profession was forever tarnished. Within five years, Bobby had opened up his own small criminal law practice outside of an office in the local strip mall, with garish advertisements on billboards and benches. Becky, somewhat more tarnished by the scandal, found herself rather suited to the office life, and has risen up the ranks of management of a local distribution warehouse.

Politics has always been an important part of Ashlynn's life, thanks to the strong political convictions and highly politicised backgrounds of her parents. Ashlynn, originally, was passionately conservative. The religious leanings of her parents, which originally she accepted dogmatically, made her socially conservative and an ardent believer in the value of traditional ways of life. The experiences of her parents, and the manner in which they taught her about them, made her both devotedly capitalist and supportive of a muscular, interventionist foreign policy. Her family still remains conservative, and largely partisan Republican in attitude. They have very little patience for socialists, communists, and those they see as advocating left-wing social engineering, although, especially with Andrea and Mark, tend to be more tolerant of those who disagree with them on social issues.

Ashlynn's views shifted from the right to the left around the time she was fifteen. There was no single turning point in her views. It very much happened issue by issue, until at the point where she had more liberal beliefs than conservative ones, prompting her to reassess her ideology as a whole. One particularly important issue in her ideological shift was when she reconsidered how to prevent tyrannical situations such as that which had affected her father's homelands. Before, she believed it was best done by preserving traditional institutions and a free market economy. Now, she believes it is best done by guaranteeing individuals personal liberty and opportunity, even if at the expense of tradition or capitalism. Another highly pertinent issue was how she viewed the impoverishment and drug issues affecting her mother's family, where her dominant narrative has shifted from one of self-responsibility to one of the failure of government to help them escape the poverty trap.

Ashlynn, now, is an avowed liberal and partisan Democrat, with an incredibly cynical and hostile view towards Republican politicians. She takes pride in how active she is in politics. She has volunteered on political campaigns to the state legislature, city government, and (stubbornly refusing to view the district's Republican lean as insurmountable) the local congressional district. She writes for the school newspaper, being unashamedly partisan in her coverage and, whenever permitted, writing editorials on national and international issues that catch her eye. She is a vociferous debater, and makes a point of never missing any debate that can be construed into a left versus right issue.

Her attitude to politics has remained largely intact throughout her ideological shift. The assumption that competing views are borne out of malice or ignorance, one that her parents largely adhere to, is still one that she subscribes to. Ashlynn now views her family's views as motivated solely by emotion, whereas they view her views as emanating from an immature idealism. Ashlynn's rather uncharitable attitude to disagreements can extend to esoteric policy issues and obscure subjects that she nevertheless regards as critical. A self-professed policy enthusiast, Ashlynn can get particularly scornful of minor yet entrenched disagreements, even if it is an issue where she herself has changed her mind not long ago. Even with those that broadly share her ideology, Ashlynn has little patience for policy and political views that she views as ill-considered or selfish. As a self-taught student of logic and critical thinking, too, she acts particularly dismissive of anyone who uses what she identifies as a logical fallacy in their argument. This attitude has reached a certain level of hypocrisy: Ashlynn is a strong believer in the philosophical importance of pluralism and debate, and professes a tolerance of different views, believing it intrinsic to liberalism. She often fails to practice what she preaches, however.

In contrast to her political views, her religious views tend to be in a constant state of flux. She is no longer the unwaveringly devout Christian she was in her childhood, but neither is she the affirmed atheist she was in her earliest days as a liberal. She avoids organised religion, something gravely disappointing to her parents, but is unsure if she still personally believes in God or not. She is only resolute in her belief that being religious is no requirement, or guarantee, of morality, and in the need for separation of church and state. These views are enough to prevent her views aligning with her parents'.

As such, her family life has gotten increasingly frosty. Politics and religion are the only major sources of continuing discontent between Ashlynn and her family. Ashlynn does have some continued ethical qualms about her parents' legal activities, but largely avoids discussing them, not considering them as worthwhile of debate as the clashes in worldview. Occasionally agreements are made to avoid discussing these sensitive subjects, but only Mark and Andrea are ever any good at keeping to such accords.

At school, Ashlynn has a mixed reputation. When not discussing politics, she is friendly, affable, and self-deprecating, if a bit long-winded and focused on details. When discussing politics in a structured environment such as a debate or a campaign, she is respectful and studious. When discussing politics outside of those environments, however, she comes across as dismissive and arrogant, her uncharitable view towards disagreements coming to the forefront. Views on Ashlynn, then, largely depend on how much time they have spent discussing politics with her, and if so, whether they share her passion and views.

Ashlynn is a serial participant in various clubs and societies. She hates saying "no" to what she considers worthy causes or admirable past-times. Ashlynn stretches herself too thin as a result, and is unable to healthily balance all her hobby obligations. She often fleetingly appears at the high-profile meetings of any club she partakes in, contributes all her ideas in one swoop, and then is frustrated when not acted upon. She is not deliberately neglectful of these clubs and volunteering promises, and does put far more total hours into such activities than her average peer. If told that she has too much on her plate, Ashlynn is prone to taking this as a personal slight.

The only commitments she is regularly able to meet are her partisan goals. She is active in the debating and newspaper clubs too, but often neglects meetings and events that do not interest her directly. She does donate money and profess support to various charitable organisations that have a presence in the school, such as Amnesty International and Doctors Without Borders. Her parents, generous with the pocket money they provide their children, tend to be supportive of Ashlynn donating to charities, but less so of any political contributions she makes. She also pledges support to groups that hope to make the school a better place, such as the Gay-Straight Alliance and the Anti-Bullying organisations, but she habitually promises more activity than she delivers.

The latest example of Ashlynn getting overly ambitious was in the recent round of student government elections. She put her name forward for four positions: Senior President, Debate Team Captain, Activism Club President, and Anti-Bullying Club President. She fell short in all four posts, but was particularly frustrated by her defeats in the Anti-Bullying Club and Senior President. She views the ultimate winner of the Anti-Bullying Club position, Wyatt Carter, as unworthy of the post, and has floated the idea of a new club as a protest. Again, this is an idea where Ashlynn has talked about it a lot but taken no tangible actions. She was hurt by her loss in the Senior President position. This was not for lack of effort, however. Ashlynn made commitments to her campaign that she managed to keep. She studied hard on campaign strategy, put substantial work and research into policy ideas, and canvassed her fellow students with considerable zeal and zest. She still lost, and her attempts to become a lobbyist of sorts, again with uncharacteristic focus and drive, have also stumbled.

An exception to her common attitude to her past-times is chess. Chess has long been a favourite past-time of the Martinek family, and though she is by no means an exceptional player, she is competent enough to take some pride in her skill. Ashlynn also has an unusually mature attitude to the game of chess. When playing it, she does not lose her cool, does not judge her opponents, and acts with both humility and an eagerness to teach others the game. It is her go-to game for relaxing or unwinding.

Ashlynn performs well academically, especially in subjects in the arts and humanities. She is not as interested in science or mathematics, and her grades vary in those subjects from exceptional to below average, depending on the level of effort she puts in. Ashlynn is a self-professed trivia master, able to easily remember often minor and arcane details, and has a fondness for quizzes and a talent for subjects that require remembering facts as a result. Her interest in trivia started when she found herself remembering the most minute of details from the political news stories she was following, and so started consuming trivia tests online. Her general unreliability has meant attempts to take this hobby into the real world have not panned out.

Ashlynn makes sure to stay in shape, and is both an avid cyclist and a yoga practitioner. She has practiced yoga for three years now, cycling for six, often doing so at the local park. She often makes attempts at joining local school clubs for both hobbies, but her poor attendance rate for clubs means these efforts are often doomed. This diligence towards fitness, acuteness for trivia, and preference for non-scientific subjects are all traits she shares with her parents. Ashlynn, generally, has an affable personality and her passion can endear her to some, but her judgemental side and tendency to overpromise and underdeliver have made her enemies.

Advantages: Ashlynn is physically fit and healthy, and also is rather intelligent, with a sense of critical thinking and deftness for debating that may be useful. Her unyielding personality and strong sense of purpose may give her a suitable temperament for the island, and her more judgemental side could protect her from being drawn in by manipulative classmates. When not discussing politics, she is likable.

Disadvantages: Ashlynn can come across as argumentative, stubborn, and arrogant, and prone to judging her classmates. Her flaws are now widely known throughout the school thanks to her ambitious bids for student government. These traits may both anger classmates and impair her judgement. She often struggles to understand the mindsets of others, viewing many disagreements as necessarily coming from a place of ignorance or malevolence. She tends to be far too ambitious with what she can do with her time, and often overstates the influence she has.

Designated Number: Female student No. 011

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Designated Weapon: Metal Keyblade Replica

Conclusion: G011 really is fit to be a politician; she's all talk, and probably no action to back it up. Talk about your problems all you want, G011. Survival of the Fittest has been around a long time, and it will be here long after you're gone. - Jim Greynolds

'The above biography is as written by General Goose. No edits or alterations to the author's original work have been made.'

Evaluations
Handled by: General Goose

Kills: None

Killed By: Julien Leblanc

Collected Weapons: Metal Keyblade Replica (assigned weapon)

Allies: Stepney Cruz, Bryan Merryweather

Enemies: Toby Underwood, Julien Leblanc

Mid-game Evaluation: 

Post-Game Evaluation: 

Memorable Quotes:

Threads
Below are a list of threads containing Ashlynn, in chronological order:

The Past: V7 Pregame: V7:
 * Registered Lobbying
 * Presidential Election Speeches
 * It's All Good Man
 * Martinek's The One
 * Take The High Road
 * Survival of the Fittest? At this time of day, in this part of the country, localised entirely within your high school?
 * Assignment to Catastrophe
 * A Tragic Flaw
 * The Flawed Architect

Your Thoughts
''Whether you were a fellow handler in SOTF or just an avid reader of the site, we'd like to know what you thought about Ashlynn Martinek. What did you like, or dislike, about the character? Let us know here!''
 * Ashlynn is a character who represented an important piece of the puzzle for a politically-focused version such as V7. She was the convert, someone raised conservative who veered from that philosophy in favor of a highly progressive viewpoint, but approached her newfound ideals with perhaps too much enthusiasm, often alienating others or allowing her discourse to become sloppy and aggressive. This was sold well in her interactions with the student election, though at certain points I felt that the idea that she wasn't actually entirely sure what she was doing was hammered in a little too hard, veering towards parody without offering much in the way of counterpoints. This plotline also becomes a bit tangled due to the election's rather nebulous place in Pregame chronology (Ashlynn's Memories thread, for instance, is actually set after her first three threads in Pregame proper).

Ashlynn has only two non-election-business scenes, but I'd say they work fairly well, especially the one in the park. I think the idea of her being mortified by her father's gaudy bench advertisement is great, especially in that it reveals a lot about her; really, she could almost certainly pass herself off as having nothing to do with it and nobody would be the wiser. It's also a funny scene, but one that's rooted in this very true teen angst, the humiliating parents.

In-game, I think the biggest thing that Ashlynn struggled with was direction and focus. I feel like I've discussed her first two threads time and again by this point, but basically Ashlynn gets stuck in a couple threads in a row of establishing connections and general group business, and while her character and voice is well captured, she gets more than a little buried by events and other characters, turning up late to the party and then not having much to do in the medical drama and then rolling through two rounds of hellos and one of goodbyes in abrupt succession.

Where she most comes alive, then, is in her final one-shot and her death thread. Ashlynn finally fixes on a purpose, helping Bryan try to bring the game to its knees, but of course they're both doomed. Her fate specifically does some nice conservation of detail, pulling the flaws we've already seen her exhibit throughout her normal life to the fore and pitting them against an ideological adversary from school, with abruptly fatal results. It's sad, fitting, and even sends her out on something of a moral victory.

I think Ashlynn's a solid character who maybe didn't get to flourish as much as she could've due to difficulties with focus and number of sceens, but if you hit her when, say, following Julien, she plays her part nicely (and I'd definitely recommend going back to check out that one-shot before reading her death). And of course, Goose always pulls out good voice work, and has a special knack for humor that's on display here. – MurderWeasel